CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO- August, 2026
I noticed as we passed Land’s End/El Arco that the sea was a bit choppy.
Whatever.
I was with my family and a bunch of tourists on a fishing boat. We’d all signed up for a snorkel adventure.
So we got to the spot. The crew gave us masks, snorkels, and fins. Excited tourists started jumping in to get up close and personal with the fishies.
The stack of life vests and floaties? They stayed onboard.
But my brilliant and beautiful Lady insisted that we three each grab a pool noodle before going in. I didn’t want to. I’m an excellent swimmer. Heck, I worked my way through High School and part of College as a lifeguard. I swim a lot.
Still, I grudgingly grasped my noodle and got into the wet.
Fast forward through some really fun times capturing lots of colorful fish moments. We even got to see three stingrays! But along the way, we- along with a couple other people- fell behind the main group. Way behind.
And the boat? It was now somehow several hundreds of yards away.
My wise and wonderful Lady noticed this, and so she corralled the three of us. We started swimming towards the boat.
It was much harder getting back than it’d been getting out.
Because the sea was choppy.
And currents were doing their thing.
So, I helped The Little- who hadn’t ever used flippers before, although we had played with masks and snorkels in the community pool many times before the trip.
That’s when I met Phil from Australia.
He was treading water. And Phil asked, in a casual way that feels very Australian to me, if he could borrow my noodle.
I handed my noodle over. He thanked me. And my family and I started back towards the ship.
Then I looked back.
The dude was not doing well.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“I’m Phil.”
“Hi Phil, I’m Patrick. You OK?”
“Well, Patrick” (long pause) “I could use a bit of a tow.”
“OK. I got you, Phil.”
I grabbed Phil’s wrist and began towing him towards the boat. One hand for him, the other for me and occasionally for The Little to keep her on target towards safety, too.
My learned and lovely Lady led us. She swam ahead, stopping now and again to wave her arms above her head like the ship crew taught us to do if we needed help.
Yeah.
They didn’t notice for a while.
So I continued towing Phil. I ate a lot of seawater. I kept towing Phil and corralling The Little. It took everything I had.
And then… BLAM! The world changed for me.
I think it was because for the first time in a while I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.
So here I was. Having a religious experience, smack in the middle of a life or death situation. I was in the flow. Total clarity.
It was glorious.
A few minutes later, the guys on the boat sent the lifeguard and a ring buoy. He took over the hard work. We all made it.
Later Phil sought me out to thank me and introduce me to his wife.
It felt good. All of it felt good.
But if I hadn’t listened to The Lady and taken support when it was offered, I would not have been able to give support when it was needed.
This story would have gone very differently.
I’m going to do my best to remember this.
I wish you a lovely end of summer and all the joy in the world.
- Patrick